


Twisted Whispers

by agentskennedy



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Gen, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-09
Updated: 2018-08-09
Packaged: 2019-06-24 03:22:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15621435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agentskennedy/pseuds/agentskennedy
Summary: A one-shot of an eavesdropping student who gets caught up in the world of the Phantom Thieves.





	Twisted Whispers

**Author's Note:**

> Yikes I haven't written a fan work in YEARS. No exaggeration. I hope you guys like this one because I feel good about how it just poured out and how easy it was to get back into writing. :)

The Phantom Thieves did not know how to keep their mouths shut. At the very least they could learn to whisper, but even that apparently proved to be outside the realm of possibility for them. But that was okay. It only worked to Shinjiro's advantage. 

Shinjiro didn't know how the strange app ended up on his phone -- he certainly had never downloaded it -- but nevertheless one day it was there. And he knew exactly what the app could do for no other reason than the fact that he had overheard many not-so-quiet conversations from the Phantom Thieves about palaces and shadows and treasures and personae... He didn't know what any of that stuff meant. He certainly didn't believe any of the stuff they said either. Hell, that group was so screwed up from all the trauma at Shujin Academy that they were probably all crazy anyway. Regardless, Shinjiro was an aspiring science fiction writer and the delusional fantasies of the Phantom Thieves were perfect writing material.

He'd always been a terrible eavesdropper and his mother never failed to remind him of this every time she caught him lurking around while she spoke on the phone or argued with his father. He couldn't help himself. He brushed off the habit as simply a necessary attribute for an author. 

So he found himself frequently spying on the Phantom Thieves. They were always so busy being loud that they never noticed him casually sipping his tea just a seat away in a ramen shop, standing nonchalantly next to their desks in school at lunch, slowly following just a few steps behind them in the train station after school. It had become a morning ritual of sorts to plan his days around joining the Phantom Thieves during their meetings even if they never knew he was doing so. They were rather predictable so it was easy to work them into his schedule. And anyway they always seemed to loudly announce their plans. 

As you might expect, what started out as his normal eavesdropping habit eventually escalated into obsessive behavior. He found himself constantly daydreaming about lavish and distorted palaces. He'd close his eyes and pretend he was there, using the descriptions he'd overheard from the Phantom Thieves and then his author's imagination to fill in the gaps. He imagined the palaces as full of vice and filth, disguised by their beautiful and impressive exteriors. He considered them in the same family as those European castles of old, surrounded by beautiful architecture and landscaping, though on the inside there were elegant people who were scandalous and mentally ill. It scared him and intrigued him at the same time.

He had overheard Ann Takamaki getting pulled into the app by Sakamoto and that transfer student. He had been on his way home from school and suddenly he saw her appear out of thin air. She had been screaming about "that bastard Kamoshida." To be honest, Shinjiro didn't particularly have an opinion about Kamoshida or any of the students he abused. Actually, he had a strict rule that as an avid snoop he would be indifferent to all that he heard so as to always have a clear mind about the information he gathered. Though he had to admit he was interested in Takamaki-san's erratic behavior. So he stopped and watched as she pulled out her cellphone.

"Damn it, what did Sakamoto say?" She muttered, on the verge of tears. She mumbled a series of words. Something must have clicked because as quickly as she appeared she had disappeared again.

At first, Shinjiro thought he was imagining things.

"That's it, I've finally lost it." He said to himself as he began walking home. He had sworn off eavesdropping from that moment on.

His promise to himself to mind his own business lasted a whole 24 hours. By the next day after school, he heard Ann, Ryuji Sakamoto, and the transfer student (in all his snooping he'd somehow never learned his name, though he knew all about his criminal record) discussing palaces for the first time. He followed them to the rooftop, unable to shake what he had seen the day before. And on top of Ann's disappearing act, he had seen the transfer student with a talking cat. Yes, that's right: a feline that could speak Japanese. Still believing his mind was playing tricks on him by that point, he decided that eavesdropping was okay as long as it was impossible to avoid. How can anyone ignore a talking cat even if it was their imagination? 

That's where it all began. Though they didn't know it, Shinjiro was there for all the Phantom Thieves' meetings. He was practically a member by default. He was there way before Yusuke Kitagawa, Makoto Niijima, Haru Okumura.... 

Knowing the constant whereabouts of the Phantom Thieves soon wasn't enough however. He began to aggressively pray and beg any and every unseen being that would listen to please, just once, let him get sucked into a palace like Ann had. With how often he hung around, Shinjiro was surprised that it hadn't happened yet, but he supposed he had to get closer at the risk of getting caught. But he just couldn't risk it and ruin any chance he had of spying on them again. They would put up their guard, hide out in their homes where he couldn't follow. 

Damn it, what did a guy have to do to get that stupid app!? He once had spent all night before exams not studying but scouring the internet for this mysterious app. He had not only come up with nothing but he had also failed his exams.

But then one day he found the app on his phone. One look at the icon and he knew exactly what he had been gifted. He had pinched himself and jogged around the block in freezing cold winter weather just to wake himself up from this dream. But the app was still there when he arrived back in his room, skin shivering and turning blue. 

He remembered however that to get into any palace he would need keywords. Easy enough, as he would be able to pick them up from the Phantom Thieves. 

His first impression of the palace was not what he expected though it was every bit as wonderful as he had imagined it would be. He had kept hearing about the Thieves changing outfits in this other world. He was still wearing his school uniform though. This wasn't necessarily a problem for Shinjiro but he couldn't lie and say he wasn't disappointed. The way he'd always heard about the costumes had him fantasizing about a world of leather and lace and tight-fitting spandex dripping with sexual connotation. He hoped in due time his clothes would magically change on their own. Anyway, he couldn't bitch about outfits when he had finally had this opportunity dropped in his lap. 

Though his body was buzzing with excitement in this strange new world, Shinjiro knew he was playing a dangerous game (he'd heard that the enemies here were formidable opponents) and decided that it would be best to allow the Phantom Thieves to unwittingly escort him through palace until he became adjusted to his surroundings. He understood that palaces only lasted until the Thieves destroyed them by taking the treasure, but one palace had to be essentially the same as the others. If he learned one he could work his way through them all. He'd have to be careful going solo however, as he didn't want to get caught in a crumbling palace unaware that the Thieves had accomplished their goal. 

As he'd come to find out, his years of sneaking around had prepared him for these palace adventures. He was able to successfully tail the Thieves and narrowly avoid enemies without ever having to engage in battle. 

Though he knew it would be best to stay indifferent about his feelings for the Phantom Thieves, once he saw them in action , he developed a deep respect for them. They were able to move swiftly and stealthily through gigantic rooms full of enemies, breezing across the rafters with not a single foe aware they were being watched. But when the Thieves did encounter an enemy, oh they were incomparable. His heart would begin to race each time he recalled a battle. Strange and fantastic specter-like beings would spring from the Thieves bodies and relentlessly take down any obstacle that stood in their way. Not only magical attacks but physical ones as well. Oh, this was better than any science fiction novel Shinjiro had ever read. And the Thieves themselves weren't too shabby either. The guys were dashing and heroic and the girls were sexy and dangerous.

Just picturing them in his mind... draped in leather, knives and guns and whips in hand..... that alone made him harden in his pants. 

This was never what he intended to happen. He had become too attached. He was hungry for more, wanted to be part of the battle and the world of intrigue. Only he didn't know how. He felt slightly shameful that the palaces were beginning to serve as an immersive erotic fantasy, and he wondered if he wasn't given the app to  _help_ the Phantom Thieves change hearts rather than just follow them around for thrills. Perhaps the people who employed the Phantom Thieves (if that was how it worked) had decided he was worthy too. Shouldn't he help? He may be indifferent but he could be willing to fight for justice. And yet that sounded unappealing. 

He was torn about what to do until he discovered that "shadow civilians" existed in the palace world. Sometime during the events that led the Phantom Thieves into the palace of Ichiryusai Madarame, Shinjiro had a run in with a non-combative shadow in the great artist's gallery. Shinjiro had let his guard down. He was amazed by it all and had allowed himself to stand out in the open. The shadow confronted him and immediately began to assault him with every sin in the book it seemed. The shadow was shallow and had the same distorted desires that the Phantom Thieves had attributed to the palace rulers. 

Before Shinjiro knew it, the shadow had dragged him behind the gallery and was having its way with him. He was unsure if the shadow was female or male but he really didn't care. The pleasure was more than enough to overpower any gender boundaries.

If he'd ever had a schmidge of feeling towards the Thieves' cause, it was gone now. Shinjiro became obsessed with the shadow sexual encounter and soon was entering the palace without the Thieves. He fucked any shadow that came into contact with him. The shadows didn't seem to have any genuine feeling about the events, and thus Shinjiro felt comfortable in the scenario, knowing he could keep his feelings of indifference and still get his fill. He hardly wanted to admit it to himself, but he often felt his body tingle at the thought of being deep inside a shadow just as the Phantom Thieves, in their deliciously debonair outfits, stole the treasure, promptly causing the palace to crumble down on him as he reached his climax. He wondered only briefly if this was some sort of death kink but quickly pushed the idea aside. It was only a fantasy after all. Right?

The more times he found himself in a palace indulging in sex, he began to think this whole thing was unhealthy. He hadn't written a single page of science fiction in months. He no longer paid attention to the palace surroundings which once awed and inspired him and instead instantly went after the first shadow he came across. Even when he wasn't in the Metaverse as the talking cat called it, he drifted off in class and at home to the fantasies which awaited him just by pressing one little button on his phone. When he opened his phone, that eye pictured on the app seemed to stare right into his soul and call him towards what his increasingly distorted heart craved.... 

Some kid at school -- he didn't know who -- had started a fan account online for the Thieves, cleverly named the Phan-Site. After days and nights spent in the Metaverse, Shinjiro was beginning to feel a darkness creep into his soul. Nothing could satiate him and he began to fear the things he would desire and do next. He had started fantasizing about acquaintances in real life. Hurting them and fucking them until he felt better. The shadows were getting to him. He doubted anything would make him feel better. He needed help.

Shaking as he opened his laptop, he brought up the Phan-Site. He humorlessly chuckled at the requests practically begging the Thieves for a change of heart for friends, family, coworkers, bosses, boyfriends, teachers... 

As he began to fill out the request form, he hardened at the thought of the Thieves giving _him_ a change of heart. He was only saddened by the fact that he would not be there to watch it happen. 


End file.
